The Heights Officially Opens

On September 14, New Jersey’s newest and largest student
residential and dining complex, The
Heights, was dedicated amid a shower of confetti and the cheers of
assembled dignitaries, guests, and students. New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Kim
Guadagno joined Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole to cut the
ribbon to mark the occasion.

The lieutenant governor commended all those involved with
the project and praised the outcome. “I think we did the right thing for the
people of New Jersey, and especially for the students and the future of New
Jersey,” she said, referring to the legislation passed to make the project
possible.

In addition to the lieutenant governor, greetings were
offered by State Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, and State Assembly Speaker Sheila
Y. Oliver. President Cole and student representatives Jared Shababb, president
of the Student Government Association and Chelsey Ristaino, community assistant
at The Heights, also offered remarks.

“The importance of this project cannot be overstated,” said
President Cole. “For more than 100 years, there has been a housing shortage at
Montclair State and today, for the very first time in the history of this
institution, there is no longer a shortage. We are now able to welcome all
students who want a residential experience at Montclair State.”

Completed within 14 months, The Heights is the first
public-private partnership construction project to be developed under the New
Jersey Economic Stimulus Act. The state-of-the-art residential complex has
approximately 568,000 square feet of living quarters, a 24,000-square-foot
dining area, and accommodates nearly 2,000 students.

Among the dignitaries and guests in attendance at the
ceremony were representatives of the Anthony M. Dinallo family and the John
Victor Machuga Foundation, the individuals in whose honor the two primary
building complexes, Dinallo Heights
and Machuga Heights, are named.